Cryogenic Microscopy Revealing Atomic Shifts in Manganite

Recent work from the group of Lena Kourkoutis (Asst. Prof., Applied & Engineering Physics), and using CCMR’s state of the art cryogenic STEM instrument, describes a new approach (see Nature Comm. article) to characterizing and understanding exotic charge-ordered phases in a manganite. Charge order is a modulation of a material’s electron density and is associated with unconventional phenomena such as superconductivity. This work (see PNAS article) sheds light, or rather electrons, on the material’s nanoscale structure changes where interesting things happen, i.e. at super-cold temperatures (~93K).